Ruth is Stranger Than Fiction

Join Ruth, Katy, Jo, and Chris (and Vinnie the cat) as we travel back to the 1820s and the dank world of body snatching. Gangs of resurrectionists roam the graveyards of the country, digging up the corpses of the recently deceased and selling them to top surgeons and eager medical students. Grim stuff, for sure! But was this a necessary horror in the service of medical advancement? Let’s see what the podcasters make of it. A small tangent about a circus act gone wrong sends things off into an inappropriate spiral, and we drink a cocktail from a very unusual receptacle. What fun!

Is it a full blown episode? Is it a mini Stranger? It’s Episode 12, hurrah! Town meets gown as Ruth and Chris encounter some of the many ghosts that haunt the cloistered corridors and courtyards of the University of Cambridge. So numerous and ghastly are the spectres of the 31 Cambridge colleges that we may well have to revisit this topic in a future episode… but for now, listen for supernatural tales of exorcisms at Peterhouse, foul smells at Sidney Sussex, and an unfortunate sequence of events involving the plague and a disillusioned priest at Corpus Christi. These spooky escapades are accompanied by some local(ish) and unusually fruity beer from the nearby village of Waterbeach.

Recovery continues apace in the Ruth is Stranger studio and for this episode we have the lovely Jo McPhee and Jake Dyer back with us to discuss some very mysterious archaeological discoveries, made in the early 1800s in the village of Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire. The Chronicle Hills reveal their secrets and a ghostly tale unfolds. Perhaps more unpleasant still, the drinks take an unusual turn with a couple of very savoury offerings that divide the team, and everyone laughs a lot at some amusing terminology. Join us!

Oh heck everyone! Katy is back! Yes, we have a visitor to the Ruth is Stranger than Fiction studio and we’re back with a full length episode. Prepare for overexcitement and giddiness, only partially caused by the alcohol. We’re going a bit Agatha Christie for this one… it’s a dark November night at Stanfield Hall in Norfolk, and some horrific events are about to unfold. Disputed inheritances, convoluted family histories, poorly considered disguises, and a cowardly butler. It’s all going on! Our tale of murder and mystery is accompanied by some rather potent cocktails, as all good tales should be.

For those with a passion for Jermys head over to jermy.org and gorge yourselves on Jermy knowledge!

We’re going back to the fens my lovely listeners… back to the fens for tales of mysterious lights in the darkness and strange phantoms whose only desire is to lead decent folks astray… it’s the ghost lights, the lantern men, the corpse candles and the will o’ the wisps! Classic marshland folklore lies within.

Get ready for doom, lovely listeners! No, not that kind of doom… for our fifth mini Stranger we’ll be back in Suffolk (with a little detour via Italy) having a look at some Last Judgement paintings and in particular some hellish scenes of fire and brimstone. As lockdown tentatively begins to lift in the outside world, Ruth and Chris are holed up drinking brandy and beer and discussing Satan’s intestines.

To see some of the paintings referred to in the episode, have a look at the accompanying blogpost.

Join Ruth and Chris for a classic Cambridge tale of snow and drunkeness as we bring you another Mini Stranger episode from the lockdown house. This time, it’s a cautionary tale about the perils of stopping at the pub on your way home from market. But will a red hankerchief and a pair of nutcrackers save the day?

Lockdown has entered a new phase in the Ruth is Stranger household and it’s gibbeting time! Bad luck Chris, get up there in that man-shaped cage and prepare to be relentlessly poked by a sharp stick! Not really of course, but it is time to talk gibbets, with discussion lubricated by quite a bit of red wine. This mini episode delves into the unpleasant history of ‘hanging in chains’ in the UK (the stench of rot! The clanking of irons!), and looks in particular at the infamous Caxton Gibbet in Cambridgeshire.

Tune in again for another mini episode brought to you during quarantine… around the fields near the North Norfolk coast the keen observer will notice a series of mysterious depressions in the earth. But how did they get here? And more importantly, why oh why are they known as The Shrieking Pits? A smattering of archaeology, a wisp of ghostly goings on, and a few gin and tonics will help us find out.

View the Aylmerton pits on Google Maps!